


Temmie and Chara Go to White Castle

by hanktalkin



Series: Swapfell [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Angst, Friendship/Love, Gen, Soft Chara (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 00:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15718020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanktalkin/pseuds/hanktalkin
Summary: And now the trip we've all been waiting for.





	Temmie and Chara Go to White Castle

Chara died and Temmie died and Chara died and Chara died and Chara died-

Ad infinitum.

The streets of the capitol were bleached white, like shoes left out in the sun, like the bits of bone that stuck out of Chara’s snapped arm every time the trident came down a second too fast. Arches of marble clawed and grabbed at them, architecture that encased them in its streets and wouldn’t let them go until they breathed their last.

And not even then.

Every time the Queen’s fire or lighting ore endless strength wore them down to where their feet clambered over to kick each other, they’d eventually make that slipup. And after one hit would come another, and another, and they wouldn’t stop coming until Chara was back in save below the elevator, the world so hot that they could still see the light when they closed their eyes.

No one had killed them as much as Toriel had. Alphys hadn’t even come close, even with her hell of blue and DETERMINATION to rival a human’s. But Toriel was just so _powerful_ , a reminder that you don’t become Queen of all monsters by sitting in your throne room and letting your enemies go unpunished.

Or maybe that was exactly what she was doing. She’d never come to fight Chara, after all; they were always coming to her.

They blinked away the light of the save point, their DETERMINATION more like a net than a life vest, no matter which one saved them from drowning. They absently touched the spot in their chest—the point where the middle prong had shattered their sternum and left them splitting blood for a few seconds before death. It was one of the more grisly kinds of death they’d had the luck to experience; ones where they clung on for a bit while longer always were. The three holes were gone now, erased along with the rest of the world and its memories, rewound to this crossroad that was so much like hell someone up there must be having a laugh.

Up There meaning heaven, not the world Chara had come from. Although, now that they thought about it, the humans would probably get a real kick out of this detestable metaphor they’d found themself in.

They really weren’t looking forward to another trek though that soulless, haunted city, only to reach the well-intentioned road paved by two dead children. They didn’t want to hear the story anymore, (didn’t want to feel Temmie shiver in their arms every time they did.)

Instead, they took a detour. A brief reprieve. Dusting off a few pebbles that fell into the lava below, they sat on one of the jutting cliffs and swung their legs over the side.

“…Human OK?”

Temmie cautiously padded over to the stone beside them. Although the lava was far below, convection was still an ugly reality in the monster world, and Chara could feel the heat of the stone through the bottoms of their pants. On their journey through Hotland, sometimes it would become unbearable, leaving burns on the bottom of Temmie’s paws.

“Yeah…I’m fine. Just need to rest.” Not a real rest though. The save stole their ability to experience sleep or hunger, or any semblance of normalcy.

“…OK.”

Temmie rested her head against Chara’s leg, watching as they tossed another stone into the magma below. It reminded them painfully of the puzzle they’d failed on the way, slipping off a spinning platform and losing their grip on Temmie’s sweater. They’d only wanted to help by carrying her—give her a brief break from frying her own skin—but had paid for their kindness tenfold as worst screams they’d ever heard echoed throughout the cavern. They’d thrown themself in afterwards to cause a reset, but it didn’t matter—unlike the others, Temmie _remembered_. She was like Chara, trapped by an uncaring god.

Her cold nose pressed against Chara’s palm.

“Do you think that if I just didn’t go up…Toriel would come and find me?” Chara asked as they kicked their shoes. “She wants my SOUL badly enough.” She’d said as much. Every single time Chara entered the barrier room she’d done them the service of displaying those who’d fallen before.

“Maybe. Tem doesn’t know,” Temmie admitted. “…Is human going to?”

Chara looked at their palms, then flicked the Worn Dagger out of their inventory. As long as they lived, died, and lived again, neither they nor Temmie would ever leave. Maybe escaping wouldn’t set them free, but giving up was the worst kind of certainty.

They lowered a hand to stroke Temmie’s raven hair. “No. I’m not done Temmie. Not yet.”

* * *

Again and again and again and again-

Chara hurt and Temmie hurt to watch them. They weren’t sure how many times it was by now but it seemed like the temporal equivalent of a few weeks. Longer than the rest of the time they’d spent in the Undergound combined. They never gave, up but they could see in the way Temmie shook after every LOAD that the resets were wearing her down. If Chara were better, stronger, they wouldn’t let her know how every step in that white city made them want to die.

But they weren’t strong. They were weak and useless, and every time Toriel killed them they screamed their pathetic heart out. And Temmie had to watch.

(And Temmie grew to hate.)

Chara didn’t believe in evil. Temmie hadn’t either, had taught Chara that there were ways to impress upon even the worst of people, but Chara could recognize the beginnings of detestation in growing in earth that had been salted too many times. Chara couldn’t stop it anymore than they could stop the Queen. No dagger would pierce Toriel’s guard, no word would break her conviction. They were here, stuck, forever.

Until they weren’t.

Chara didn’t realize what they’d done until Toriel was knelt before them, her head bowed and weapon pointed at the ground, her HP flicking into nonexistence. The familiar dance had finally paid off, beaten into their ankles and wrists, pulling them at exactly the right time. They’d finally, _finally_ , brought the Queen of monsters to her knees.

“…Of course.” Toriel’s voice was soft. “I could not stop humanity the first time, and now they have bested me again. All of this…for nothing.”

The human SOULS stared down at her from their glass jars. They surrounded the fight like centurions, like a grand jury.

And they certainly weren’t judging Chara.

“You did stop me,” Chara said. Their voice wasn’t even tangible anymore—more like a memory of what they used to be. A different person that existed before the first bolt of fire scorched their skin. “You killed before.”

“And yet you are here.” Toriel’s eyes were red. Asgore’s had been too. Red and full of love and just like Chara’s.

“I’ve told you that before too,” Chara said. “But you kept fighting. You never stop.”

They could see Temmie as she carefully slinked out of the shadows to stand near the human souls. It was over. It had to be. Toriel was defeated now and they could go and Temmie would-

Temmie would-

Pebbles of hard bone calcified in Chara’s throat.

“Go on then,” Toriel said. Even on the floor she towered over the human. “Finish it. I have nothing more to give the Underground.”

* MERCY

Toriel scoffed. “Do not try that on me, child. If you do not strike me down, I will simply get up and do the same to unto you.”

Chara didn’t believe that. Their eyes flicked, briefly, to Temmie as she watched the scene with her unchanging expression. She was safe enough, for now, not in danger of any wayward bolts that might send her careening into that pulsating barrier as she had so many times when Chara had still let her into this fight. But now another dagger was between them, another step, an uncertain decision-

*MERCY

“Do it!” Toriel’s voice hiked up and out, reverberating off the grey-white walls. “Finish me!” She lurched, a miserable attempt to rise and force a confrontation. “If I cannot set my people free then I will die before rolling over for you.”

Eyes locked behind Toriel, Temmie’s unblinking expression, but Chara knew they were just as scared. Unsure. If this was really it…

*MER-

Toriel lunged.

Her trident wasn’t nearly as discarded as it appeared, leaping into her hand-

Going through Chara’s stomach in a flash of white.

“Human!” was all Chara heard, the surprise attack throwing them to ground even as Toriel readied another one.

The world titled, and they only saw Temmie briefly as she panicked, pressing her paws against the cylinder before her-

SHTTTTSHHHHHHHhhhhhh!

Glass flew, lacerating Toriel’s face as she whipped around just in time to scream, “NO!” The green soul was free, and it wasn’t the last. The containers fell one after another in a horrifying domino effect that crashed louder than Toriel roar as the last hope of monsterkind splintered into glittering shards.

Chara clutched their insides, nothing in them but pain and a distant worry that Temmie might be hurt in all the spinning glass-

Only for their fear to fade a moment later. Their fear and everything else.

* * *

They were standing in black.

Toriel was still in front of them, but everything else—Temmie, the souls, the barrier—was been wiped away, sentencing them to this stillness. Their wounds, which a moment ago had threatened to send them through another load, were gone, leaving them hugging themself as they stared at the Queen’s back.

There was no light here, yet they could see their opponent of just fine, a pair alone in a sea of blackness-

A sea that started to swirl.

Something splashed in the dark, the solid floor mounting into ripples then waves then entire tides, crashing as a gigantic monster spiraled closer to its end. A huge column of water burst before them, finally revealing the giant serpent as it rose, ink rolling off its back and steaming snout.

_YOU._

The voice echoed, and Chara couldn’t tell if it was everywhere or just in their head. The serpent’s eyes were a voided black, staring down at the mortals below them with an infinity behind them.

“…Temmie?” Chara’s voice came out meek in the presence of the monster before them. But the color of the scales, the way the snout was slightly curved…

_YOU HAVE HARMED THE HUMAN MORE THAN ANYONE HAS EVER TORMENTED ANOTHER BEING._

It took a moment to realize Temmie was talking to Toriel. The Queen was on the ground again, her wounds from the fight not as mercifully tended to as Chara’s own. She spat, blood landing in the black emptiness. “I don’t doubt it.”

_EVEN WHEN EXTENDED COMPASION AGAIN AND AGAIN YOU STRIKE THEM DOWN IN YOUR NEED FOR REVENGE._

Toriel remained silent.

_WHEN SHOWN MERCY YOU ABUSE. WHEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE YOU BETRAY. IF YOU ARE EVER TO BE STOPPED, DEATH IS YOUR ONLY FATE._

“Temmie…” Chara said, the edges of their voice fraying like the air itself was tearing them apart.

“Then that is the way it is,” Toriel mumbled. “I welcome it. I am nothing now, let us see if you can do what your friend would not.”

_YOUR ACCEPTANCE DOES CHANGE YOUR CRIMES. I CHARGE YOU WITH OBLIVION._

“Temmie stop! She isn’t attacking anymore!”

Toriel dropped her head. There were the faintest tracks of tears dripping through her fur. The serpent reared back-

Chara thrust themself in-between the injured Queen and the vengeful god. “STOP!”

The forward movement of the endless neck lurched, slowing the mass of inertia until Temmie’s face stopped inches from Chara’s own. They heaved, their ribcage expanding with terror they’d never felt from their friend before.

_STAND ASIDE, HUMAN. I WILL HANDLE THIS._

“This isn’t what we do Temmie,” Chara pleaded, gazing up at Temmie. “We don’t have to hurt people. You taught me that.”

_SHE BETRAYED YOU._

“That doesn’t matter! She’s just scared! Just like me, like you. Like everyone is down here!”

_SHE WILL NOT STOP. FORGIVNESS WILL NOT CHANGE HER._

“It might!” Chara choked out. “We never get the chance to find out, not with the resets and now you turning into a giant snake monster!”

Temmie was silent. It seemed within that infinite lake there should be rushing or the sound of water, but instead the only thing Chara heard was their own heartbeat and the labored breathing behind them.

Then-

_SHE KILLED YOU FOR JUST TRYING TO GO HOME._

“Maybe I don’t want to go home.” They felt that terrible aching in their throat that let them know they were about to start crying like a big baby. But they had keep going. Had to make Temmie see. “I never _wanted_ to go home I just wanted…I wanted a friend. And my friend wanted me to be safe.” They wiped their nose on their sleeve.

_…HUMAN…._

“I meant what I said before. I don’t want to leave if I can’t break the barrier.”

Their was a soft draw of breath, and Chara turned for the first time to see the defeated Queen. She was looking at them, her eyes alive with wariness.

“I’ve always tried to tell you,” they said. “You never believe me.”

A grumble ruminates from the serpent’s unceasing body. More water falls from her scales, shattering the surface below.

_…I MAY…BE ABLE TO…_

She hesitated, searching her memory, wondering for the extent of her power.

_TO DESTROY IT. WITH YOUR HELP._

When Chara looked at the monster above them, massive, limitless, stitching herself together with six stolen souls, they trust that she could do whatever she wanted.

_BUT OTHER MONSTERS WOULD COME. ANOTHER WAR PRESENTS ITSELF BEFORE US._

Chara lowered their chin to the their chest, but only briefly. Because when they turned they saw Toriel, her mouth slightly open as she witnessed an avatar of pure power offering her a way out. She noticed Chara’s gaze, and flicked red eyes to red eyes.

“…She is not wrong,” she admitted. “We are not a forgiving people.”

“But you can be,” Chara told, no, _demanded_ of her. “You can be whatever you want.”

Toriel did not look away.

“If we set monsters free,” they started again, “would you promise to be nice?”

“ _Nice_.” Toriel repeated the word. If there was any humor that life and loss had not stripped away from her, it was slanted in that one statement. But she faced Chara with every ounce of conviction remaining and said, “you have my word that we will not wage war against those who chained us. For our freedom, I would do anything.”

_MORE LIKE YOU WOULD PROMISE ANYTHING._

“Temmie,” Chara warned, but their friend was contented to silence. “Thank you, your majesty.”

“…Any time.”

And that was it. Over. Now, for real this time. Chara turned to face their best friend, their Temmie, the one person who’d been with them through it all.

Sure she was a god now, but every relationship has its bumps and bruises.

“Are you ready Temmie?” They thought of raven black hair, and small warm balls of fur.

 _YES_.

“Tell me what you need to do.”

_…PRESS YOUR HAND TO ME. I WILL NEED…SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO._

So they did and she asked, and when Chara spread their fingers against plates as strong as diamonds, they thought of the brave little Temmie who brought them all the way hear. If anyone was deserving of those human souls, it was her.

Toriel was gone now, pearls of light rippling off Temmie in waves, and not just coming off but drawing _in_. Chara saw what they realized were monsters souls flying past, sinking in to join each other as one beating heart-

That flared so hot their hand burned-

But they didn’t care because Temmie was going to save them all. And as the last of the little dash of grey bundled past, slowing as the event horizon brings them all together, they touched their forehead to Temmie, ready for their adventure to end.


End file.
